What is the citizen’s arrest law at the heart of the trial over Ahmaud Arbery’s death?

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Demonstrators walk by a mural of Ahmaud Arbery in June 2020. The three men accused of his Feb. 2020 murder now face trial.





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Demonstrators have gathered outside the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga. as the trial of the three men accused of the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery gets underway.





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Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are father and son, attend a bond hearing in Nov. 2020. The McMichaels and William «Roddie» Bryan are on trial for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.





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As the McMichaels were trying to stop Arbery, a fight broke out in the road and Arbery was shot three times with a shotgun.

According to Margulies, the jury will have to consider whether the men «reasonably suspected» that Arbery had committed a felony and was trying to escape.

Even though Arbery didn’t commit any felony crimes, the jury simply has to conclude whether they reasonably believed that he did.

Margulies says he expects the McMichaels to say: «It’s not simply that Mr. Arbery was a young Black man who jogged by, it’s that we had a number of reports of burglaries in the area.»

Police never connected Arbery to any.


What other laws will be scrutinized in this trial?


In addition to the now-repealed citizen’s arrest law, Margulies says Georgia’s open carry and «stand your ground» laws will also factor into the case.

Open carry laws allow Georgians to openly carry firearms if they have a permit for them.

And «stand your ground» laws allow them to use deadly force if they «reasonably believed that they were at risk of serious bodily injury or death,» according to Margulies.

«So that’s where it all will turn.»

Margulies says repealing the citizen’s arrest law went a long way towards addressing racist violence, but he argues there are still issues with the open-carry and «stand your ground» laws in Georgia and other states.

Until these laws are also addressed, «You will continue to see … avoidable violence on the streets,» Margulies says.